Extensible zippered closure for boots

ABSTRACT

An improved type of zippered closure for apparel enveloping body parts, including boots of the over-the-calf type, is provided wherein a separable fastener or zipper with fabric mounting tapes is incorporated between spaced edges of a multi-ply apparel wall through expansible means providing relative movement of said spaced edges in adapting to contours of the engaged body part, and wherein said expansible means is assembled to the fastener tapes and apparel wall in a manner to have limited contact with the engaged body part. Important features of the new construction comprise fabric separable fastener mounting tapes which overlie the back side of the fastener links to substantially abut as the links are interengaged, extensible means secured to the outer surfaces of the fabric tapes adjacent the links, and the remote edges of the extensible means being secured between inner and outer plies of said apparel wall.

llited ttes Ptet [191 Dexter EXTENSIBLE ZIPPERED CLOSURE FOR BOOTS [76] Inventor: Russell S. Dexter, 325 E. 41st St.,

New York, N.Y. 10017 [22] Filed: Mar. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 234,114

1,799,210 4/1931 Blaskopf..... 24/205.l6 R 1,895,172 l/1933 Prentice 24/205 B 2,068,500 1/1937 Marinsky 24/205.l 2,178,885 1l/1939 Buff et a1. 24/205 R 3,509,646 5/1970 Vietas 36/25 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 11/1950 Canada 36/50- Primary Examiner-Bernard A. Gelak Assistant Examiner-Kenneth J. Dorner Attorney-Howard E. Thompson, Jr.

[ 57] ABSTRACT An improved type of zippered closure for apparel enveloping body parts, including boots of the over-thecalf type, is provided wherein a separable fastener or zipper with fabric mounting tapes is incorporated between spaced edges of a multi-ply apparel wall through expansible means providing relative movement of said spaced edges in adapting to contours of the engaged body part, and wherein said expansible means is assembled to the fastener tapes and apparel wall in a manner to have limited contact with the engaged body part. Important features of the new construction comprise fabric separable fastener mounting tapes which overlie the back side of the fastener links to substantially abut as the links are interengaged, extensible means secured to the outer surfaces of the fabric tapes adjacent the links, and the remote edges of the extensible means being secured between inner and outer plies of said apparel wall.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures EXTENSIBLE ZIPPERED CLOSURE FOR BOOTS This invention relates to an improved type of zippered closure for apparel enveloping body parts, including boots of over-the-calf type, wherein a separable fastener or zipper with fabric mounting tapes is incorporated betweenspaced edges of a multi-ply apparel wall through expansible means providing relative movement of said spaced edges in adapting to contours of the engaged body part, and wherein said expansible means is assembled to the fastener tapes and apparel wall in a manner to have limited contact with the engaged body part. Important features of the new construction comprise fabric separable fastener mounting tapes which overlie the back side of the fastener links to substantially abut as the links are interengaged, extensible means secured to the outer surfaces of the fabric tapes adjacent the links, and the remote edges of the extensible means being secured between inner and outer plies of said apparel wall.

BACKGROUND OFTI-IE INVENTION The broad concept of mounting zippers to boot shanks and other spaced members in apparel enveloping body parts in a manner to provide for some relative transverse movement or expansion of the joined members is extremely old in the art,ialmost as old as the zipper art itself. U.S. Pat. No. 1,799,210, issued Apr. 7, 1931 to M. Blaskopf, for example, shows structures wherein the zipper links may be mounted on fabric stringers formed with a transversely extensible or elastic section, and. structures wherein a non-elastic stringer may be joined in essentially co-planar fashion to a member having transversely extensible properties.

Another U.S.' Pat. No. 2,178,885, issued Nov. 7, 1939 to Buff et al. shows front and rear boot gussets', wherein'double zipper assemblages are connected to 'the boot structure by transversely extendible elastic means secured to the inner surface of'the boot material and to the outer surface of zipper tapes.

While these prior means for providing transverse extension in the mounting of zippers may be effective in permitting varied spacing of joined portions of boot walls and the like, they leave much to be desired from the standpoint of comfort to the wearer, due to the direct contact between the tranversely extendible elements and the leg of the wearer. Furthermore, the prior art approaches involving the use of zipper links exposed at the inner surface of a closure is extremely undersirable in the present day use of womens over-thecalf boots, due to the chance of damaging hosiery which is generally worn under the boots.

THE INVENTION The improved type of zippered closure of the present invention overcomes the problems encountered with the prior art approaches by employing in the first instance separable fastener or zipper stringers, in which the mounting tape for the interengaging links extends over the back or body side of the links to substantially meet when the links of opposing stringers are coupled together. Even more important, however, is the fact that in the improved zippered closure the mounting of the transversely extensible means to the zipper stringers and boot structure is such as to permit little or no direct contact between the extensible means and the leg or other engaged body part of the wearer. This is achieved by securing the extensible means to the zipper stringers by abutting the same, preferably through an inturned edge, to the outer surfaces of the zipper stringers and laminating the remote edge of the extensible means between inner and outer materials making up the boot shank or the like.

In over-the-calf boots, the types of circumferential expansion or accommodation permitted by the improved type of zippered closure may come into play primarily in the calf portion of the boot shank in order to provide a type of close engagement with the calf of the leg, which will provide a positive support for the boot shank in spite of the changes in size and shape of the calf inherent in muscle flexing during walking and other leg movements.

The improved zippered closure is preferably employed with boots fashioned from leather or other sheet material which is essentially of fixed or unyielding dimension circumferentially of the leg, so that, as the boot is being applied to the leg, and outward tension is applied to the zipper in the closing movement thereof, the boot shank will adapt itself closely to essentially undistorted leg tissue, and as the zipper closing operation progresses, the fabric backing of the zipper links will come into contact with the leg with a minimum of direct contact between the extensible means and the leg.

By way of example, a gusset or closure insert in the fully relaxed position, may support spaced edges of the boot shank or other body enveloping member about 1 inch apart, and maximum expansion of the expansible means may permit the same edges to be spaced apart by a distance of 2 inches or somewhat more. Even as thus extended, the preferred assemblage of the extensible means to the zipper tapes tend, in a manner more fully hereinafter described, to accentuate the spacing between the extensible means and the body of the wearer.

The zippered closure of the present invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following description, together with the accompanying drawing, in which a preferred embodiment of the invcntion is illustrated with the various parts thereof identified by suitable reference characters in each of the views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a boot incorporating the zippered closure of the invention diagrammatically shown as applied to the leg of a wearer.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section view, substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing a partly expanded portion of the zippered closure.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view taken in the direction of the arrows 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a view, similar to FIG. 3, showing the expansible means in a fully relaxed position.

As shown in FIG. 1, a boot 10 having a foot engaging portion 11 with a sole 12 anda heel 13 (which can be varied in size and height to provide desired fashion or style effects) is joined to a boot upper or shank portion 14 of a height such that the upper edge 15, as it engages the leg 16 of a wearer, is preferably above the maximum size of the calf l7.

The shank 14, as shown in FIG. 2, is formed of inner sheet member 18 and outer sheet member 19 which are coextensive and which terminate in spaced edges 20, 20a. The sheet members 18 and 19 are preferably fashioned from leather or other material having little or no planar extensibility, with the inner material 18 preferably being of smooth texture for safe engagement with hosiery, and the outer material 19 being subject to wide variation in providing desired styling and design effects.

The edges 20, 20a are joined together by the novel zippered closure 21 comprising fabric tapes 22, 220 having interengaging separable fastener or zipper links 23, 23a secured thereto, transversely extensible members 24, 24a having inwardly folded edges 25, 25a joined by lines of stitching 26, 26a to the outer surfaces of the tapes 22, 22a and having the free edges 27, 27a thereof secured between inner and outer layers l8, 19 of the boot shank by lines of stitching 28, 280.

It is to be understood that the showing in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is somewhat diagrammatic and exaggerated to facilitate description of the components and, for example, the lines of stitching 26, 26a and 28, 28a will, of course, embed themselves in the interstices of the materials being joined. Similarly, in the extensible members 24, 24a, no attempt has been made to show accurate details of the weave, since this is a conventional and readily available material wherein non-extensible longitudinal members 29 are interwoven with transversely extending members 30 of rubber or other extensible material.

In the fully relaxed position shown in FIG. 4, the longitudinal strands or fibers 29 assume a closely packed position, and they become more widely spaced as the zippered closure 21 is extended to the calf engaging configuration shown in FIG. 3 which is a position intermediate the relaxed and the fully expanded positions.

The force required to expand the members 24, 24a from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, or to an even wider spacing of the edges 20, 20a has the effect, as will be noted from the assembly detail in FIG. 2, of flexing inwardly the edges 31, 31a of the tapes 22, 22a thereby tending to urge the extensible members 24, 24a away from the leg of the wearer, so that even as the zippered closure is expanded to its fullest extent, there will be little or no direct contact between the members 24, 24a and the leg of the wearer. This is believed to be a factor in the unusual comfort which has been noted by users of boots incorporating the improved zippered closure.

In the operation of coupling the zipper links 23, 23a by manipulation of the slider 32, the natural tendency is to pull somewhat outwardly from the leg, and this natural tendency serves both to closely wrap the boot shank 14 about the leg of the wearer and equally extend the members 24, 24a to accommodate the leg contours of the individual wearer. In the fully closed position as shown in FIG. I, the zippered closure will, in most instances in a properly fitting boot, be substantially wider in the calf area of section 22 than in lower portions of the leg, but this gradual variation in width longitudinally of the zippered closure in no way detracts from the neat appearance of the boot on the wearer.

Since an expansion of one inch or more can be provided in the zippered closure, it will be apparent that a single size boot shank 14 can properly fit legs of quite differing taper and calf size. In fact, it is considered that two standard sizes of boot shank 14, having reference to the circumferential dimension in the calf area, would accommodate seventy to 80 percent of the potential wearers. This means that boots incorporating the improved zippered closure can be supplied at a fraction of the cost of boots presently available, wherein the shank portion is fashioned from specially pre-treated leather or other material providing extensibility throughout the circumference thereof. Furthermore, with the circumferentially extensible boot shank materials, even though properly fitting at the start, there is a tendency toward fatigue or loss of resiliency which can result in improper fit after relatively short periods of use. In contrast to this, the extensible member 24, 24a of the improved zippered closure are infinitely more rugged and will assure close and comfortable calf engagement even after long periods of use.

It should be pointed out that the particular configuration of the zipper links 23, 23a and the manner of positioning the links by stitchings 33, 33a, while illustrating a commercially available zipper construction, is of no special significance. The important thing is that the tapes 22, 22a sufficiently overlap the links 23, 23a, so as to meet in the manner shown when the zipper links are engaged; and numerous fabric backed" zippers having this characteristic are commercially available which have quite different zipper link configuration but which can be utilized equally well in assembling the zippered closure of the present invention.

Similarly, there are many different types of one-way stretch fabric materials commercially available which are suitable for use as the members 24, 240. In actual practice, selection of a particular material for the members 24, 24a will depend upon the compatibility of its color and texture with the particular color and/or ornamentation of the outer surface material 19 of the boot shank.

While the zippered closure has been particularly described in association with the over-the-calf boots, it will be understood that the structural features involved can be employed to advantage in other apparel where limited accommodations to variation in size of the enveloped part is desirable. By way of illustration, the zippered closure could be incorporated as a front closure for low shoes of the pump or oxford type wherein the lateral extensibility would comfortably conform to the particular configuration of the instep of the wearer. Similarly, as a closure for gloves, the zippered closure, with its provision for lateral extensibility, could accommodate to substantial variation in palm and wrist sizes associated with particular finger sizes. In these and other adaptations, the particular mounting of the extensible members 24, 24a, which minimizes or prevents direct contact between these members and the body of the wearer, is considered to contribute significantly to the comfort in use, while providing the desired size accommodation.

Various changes and modifications in the zippered closure as herein disclosed may occur to those skilled in the art and, to the extent that such changes and modifications are embraced by the appended claims, it is to be understood that they constitute part of the present invention.

I clalm:

1. In an article of apparel wherein a wall structure for enveloping a body part is formed of an inner body engaging layer and a coextensive outer layer with the edges of said wall structure spaced from each other as assembled to the body part, a zippered closure for joining such spaced edges, said closure comprising a zipper having interengaging links associated with mounting tapes which overlie the zipper links and abut at the body side of said zipper when the links are interengaged, a pair of longitudinally non-extensible and transversely extensible members each secured along one longitudinal edge thereof and throughout the length of said zipper to the outer surface of one of said tapes adjacent the links of said zipper, and the opposed edges of said members being secured between inner and outer layers of said wall structure, whereby said transversely extensible members are supported in essentially spaced relation from an enveloped body part.

2. A zippered closure in an article of apparel as defined in claim 1, wherein the edges of said transversely extensible members secured to said tapes have inturned portions which bear directly against said tapes, and lines of stitching are passed through said tapes and superimposed double layers of he extensible members, whereby planar tension in said extensible members tends to tilt said tapes in a manner to lift the extensible members away from the enveloped body part.

3. A zippered closure in an article of of apparel as defined in claim ll, wherein said aricleof apparel is a boot having a shank portion of a length to extend over the calf of a wearer, and said zippered closure extends throughout the full length of said shank portion.

4. A zippered closure in a boot as defined in claim 3, wherein the spaced edges of the boot shank in the relaxed state of said zippered closure are approximately one inch apart, and are at least two inches apart when said transversely extensible members are fully extended.

5. A zippered closure in a boot as defined in claim 3, wherein the edges of said transversely extensible members secured to said tapes have inturned portions which bear directly against said tapes, and lines of stitching are passed through said tapes and superimposed double layers of the extensible members, whereby planar tension in said extensible members tends to tilt said tapes in a manner to lift the extensible members away from the enveloped body part. 

1. In an article of apparel wherein a wall structure for enveloping a body part is formed of an inner body engaging layer and a coextensive outer layer with the edges of said wall structure spaced from each other as assembled to the body part, a zippered closure for joining such spaced edges, said closure comprising a zipper having interengaging links associated with mounting tapes which overlie the zipper links and abut at the body side of said zipper when the links are interengaged, a pair of longitudinally non-extensible and transversely extensible members each secured along one longitudinal edge thereof and throughout the length of said zipper to the outer surface of one of said tapes adjacent the links of said zipper, and the opposed edges of said members being secured between inner and outer layers of said wall structure, whereby said transversely extensible members are supported in essentially spaced relatioN from an enveloped body part.
 2. A zippered closure in an article of apparel as defined in claim 1, wherein the edges of said transversely extensible members secured to said tapes have inturned portions which bear directly against said tapes, and lines of stitching are passed through said tapes and superimposed double layers of the extensible members, whereby planar tension in said extensible members tends to tilt said tapes in a manner to lift the extensible members away from the enveloped body part.
 3. A zippered closure in an article of of apparel as defined in claim 1, wherein said article of apparel is a boot having a shank portion of a length to extend over the calf of a wearer, and said zippered closure extends throughout the full length of said shank portion.
 4. A zippered closure in a boot as defined in claim 3, wherein the spaced edges of the boot shank in the relaxed state of said zippered closure are approximately one inch apart, and are at least two inches apart when said transversely extensible members are fully extended.
 5. A zippered closure in a boot as defined in claim 3, wherein the edges of said transversely extensible members secured to said tapes have inturned portions which bear directly against said tapes, and lines of stitching are passed through said tapes and superimposed double layers of the extensible members, whereby planar tension in said extensible members tends to tilt said tapes in a manner to lift the extensible members away from the enveloped body part. 